Julia & Jacques Cooking At Home

Rating:
Summary: It doesn't get any better than this...
Review: (Full disclosure: I'm a Julia Child addict. I grew up "cooking along" with her show in the 1980s by sitting before my aunt's television with empty aluminum bowls and a whisk and clanking in time to Julia's instruction. Twenty-some years later, and I'm still at it...)

I just finished watching all 10 (!) hours of this four-DVD set over several days, and I can wholeheartedly recommend it to anyone who is seriously interested in learning to cook time-tested, delicious meals at home. But be aware: this is old-school bourgeois cookery: roasts, stews, flans and crepe gateaus. This isn't foamed smoked salmon on a bed of organic flower petals or other such nonsense.

Rather, it is gratifying cooking that requires some practice and attention. That's why these DVDs are so great: You can easily play and replay the techniques that are often the most difficult in french cooking. Jacques Pepin debones a duck for an easy stove-top preparation, but if you were watching on PBS, you'd be likely to forget the exact steps and tricks for removing the hip bone or separating the breast from the carcass. It takes a bit of thinking, but if you go out and buy a duck, take it home, and review the DVD as often (and as slowly) as necessary, you will get it right. This is a great leap for home-learning.

These DVDs are a boon for Julia and Jacques's desire to convince America to return to homey, sensible meals, because it makes learning the techiques less forbidding. (I did the "serious amateur's" Saturday cooking classes at the French Culinary Institute in SoHo, where Pepin is a dean, and I especially appreciate the reminders that the DVDs provide; his technique and style is 100% FCI.)

For a lifelong devotee of Julia, it's difficult at times to see the great dame aging on-screen (and this is from '94-'95); Jacques does most of the heavy lifting here. But the series is nonetheless 100% Child and is worthy of her legend.

NOW IF ONLY THEY WOULD RELEASE ALL OF THE OLD SHOWS ON DVD ("Julia Child and Company," "Julia Child and More Company" or even the old "French Chef")!! A la Carte communications take note: there are more Julia addicts out there than just I!

Rating:
Summary: The best
Review: I got this from my daughter for Christmas and it could not be any better. My wife and I both cook and have many cookbooks including this one which we use often. Being able to visulize the actual preparation is great, not to mention how enjoyable both Julia and Jacques are to watch. We would Highly recommend this DVD.

Rating:
Summary: Great Content but Lousy Packaging
Review: I learn much more from watching the two great masters in TV than reading their cook books. I was really looking forward to receive these 4-disc DVDs. Unfortunately when the package arrived, two of the discs were not secured inside the box and there were deep scratches on the surface of the discs. I returned the set and asked for a replacement. The second package arrived with the same problem. A La Carte, the distribution, could have come up with a better packaging than cramping 4 discs inside a single box. I decided to keep the merchandize because I really treasure this TV series. But if you are not as crazy as I am, don't buy this set until the distributor comes up with a better package.

Rating:
Summary: How to navigate the DVD
Review: the previous reviewer's comments are unintelligent: like most PBS shows, the original broadcasts of this series were paid for by just a few companies who receive promotional courtesy ads at the beginning of each show. Since this DVD is a compendium of an entire season of shows, they did us the favor of placing the ads just ONCE at the beginning of the entire DVD. So, yes, you have to sit through them once, but after that, you can just use your DVD player's option (usually the default) to "continue playing at the last location played." I have used several DVD players, and they all did this. This DVD is entirely useable.

Rating:
Summary: Ruined, and not enough Julia
Review: This thing has been ruined by mercenary cynicism and incompetence. There are 4 rather long ads at the beginning of the first disk, and of course, the programming won't let you skip them, even if this is your 5th time watching the disk. I found it impossible to navigate. I stepped out for a moment, and was never able to simply get back to where I'd stepped out. I ended up at the beginning being forced to watch all the ads again. I quit. From what little I did see, I'm also rather dissatisfied with Julia's exposure. I'm sure Pepin's a good cook, but Julia Child is a gestalten experience; it's not just nuts, bolts and stock. I could cry when I think that we have this, but not a simple, honest packaging of Julia's old shows. Oh, and the case stinks. You have to remove an odd numbered CD entirely to get to the even numbered one beneath. Mine arrived rattling around loose. The company that produced this DVD is A La Carte Communications, and should perhaps be avoided.

Rating:
Summary: Problematic, and not enough Julia
Review: {Revised} There are 4 rather long ads at the beginning of the first disk, and the programming won't let you skip them, even if this is your 5th time watching the disk. My Samsung DVD player does bad things if you push buttons too often, but you never know whether the unit is picking up the beam from the remote, so it's extremely hard to reliably avoid ending up at the beginning, and in this case when that happens you're doomed to live through all the ads again. Pause it before nipping out; don't risk trying to back up! I'm also rather dissatisfied with Julia's exposure. I'm sure Pepin's a good cook, but Julia Child is a gestalten experience. I could cry when I think that we have this, but not a simple, honest packaging of Julia's The French Chef. Oh, and the case is objectionable. You have to remove an odd numbered CD entirely to get to the even numbered one beneath. Mine arrived rattling around loose. Finally, the action gets a bit too fast sometimes. Two people cooking at near-restaurant speed doesn't make such a good cooking show. The more I think about it, the more that irks me. I, too, grew up with Julia, and I miss the thoroughness of The French Chef. These are still probably worth watching (unless you're trying to control your eating!).